The west half of the Franklin Boulevard Bridge over I-84 in Nampa was rebuilt in 1999. On Aug. 27, crews started dismantling the east half of the bridge (built in 1965) in a reconstruction project that will extend into next summer.

Removing a portion of the bridge will allow future I-84 widening between the Franklin Boulevard and Garrity Boulevard interchanges in Nampa. The widening project is anticipated to begin in late 2009.

As the bridge is demolished, old concrete from the bridge will be taken to the Boise Fire Department Airport Firefighting Training Facility and used for training purposes to simulate a collapsed building. Fire fighters will break through the concrete to rescue " victims" during training.

"It's a win-win situation," said Brent Ho, fire department special operations chief. "ITD wins by simply transporting the materials to the fire department. The fire department wins by furthering its training program without having to purchase materials from a local vendor."

Concrete Placing Company of Boise is the contractor for the $3.1 million bridge reconstruction project.

The I-84, Franklin Boulevard Bridge project is the latest in a series of interstate improvements planned for I-84 between Caldwell and Meridian, funded through the GARVEE Transportation Program. Reconstruction of the Black Cat Road and Robinson Boulevard bridges is scheduled to begin in mid-September and finish in late January. About five months later, construction of a full interchange at Ten Mile Road is scheduled to begin.